Independence
by httydfan95
Summary: Winona pays Jim a visit, which goes all wrong when Jim realizes why she's there. Can Spock and McCoy help him as he struggles through memories he had pushed down for years? Hurt and angry Jim, cuss words, mentions of abuse. Once a oneshot, now a chapter story. Just friendship, no slash.
1. Emotional Visits

(A/N: Thanks to all who read and/or reviewed my other two stories, 'Love' and 'If I Die Young'. I'd be honored if you read them, and even more so if you reviewed and/or favorited them along with this story! This story is un-betaed, so I apologize for any mistakes.)

Captain James Tiberius Kirk walked into the Starfleet Living Center, where all the officers lived if they didn't have a home of their own, heading toward the stairs but was stopped by the receptionist.

"Sir, you have a visitor up in your room waiting for you."

"Thanks, Jeanette," he smiled, hurrying up the stairs.

Jim pushed open the door and stopped in his tracks.

An attractive woman rose to greet him. Shoulder length, wavy white-blonde hair. A curvy, slim body. With her blue-green eyes she could have been a model, but Jim wasn't fooled. He knew exactly who she was.

"Winona."

Winona smiled. A warm smile, that when he was younger was only given to Sam.

"Hello, Jim."

She reached for him, but he stepped back.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded.

Winona smiled again, but Jim wasn't fooled yet another time.

"I wanted to see you. What, I can't see my son?"

She paused, then continued.

"I'm so proud of you. I always knew you would be like your father. Tall, handsome, famous..."

"No."

Winona blinked at Jim in mild surprise. "No?"

"No."

Anger that he had forced down for years came back up.

"You never knew that. You never helped me. You tore me down, and said I was a useless bitch that would never amount to anything."

Jim took a step toward her, his lean, muscled body tense with anger and his slightly controlled temper flaring.

"You tore me down. You never loved me. You hated me. You loved Sam, but not me. Oh, no, Jim is a useless piece of shit who doesn't know a thing. You didn't give a damn about me!"

Jim was screaming now, and Winona reached for him.

"Jim-"

"Don't touch me!"

"James-"

"No! You hated me! I did everything! I got perfect grades, I never played, I did all my chores. And what did I get? An abusive stepfather, a hateful mother, and a trip to Tarsus IV on which I lived before and during the massacre!"

Winona gasped, her face registering shock.

"Frank, abusive? The Tarsus IV massacre? Jim, you..."

'Yes!"

Jim took a breath, finally losing it.

"You never cared! I was just a fucking piece of shit to you! You hated me! You DESPISED me! But I rose above it. I survived you. I survived Frank. I survived Tarsus IV. And now I'm a Starfleet captain, and what do you do? You think, 'oh, James is famous now, time for me to step in and be his mom'. Well, no! I HATE you!" Jim raged, smashing things on the ground.

Winona took a step back.

"Jim-"

"No! Get out!"

He shoved her out and slammed the door. Then, when she was gone and his anger had ebbed away to hurt, he dropped to his knees and cried. Cried for the life he never had. Cried for all the people on Tarsus IV who had died. He just cried.

(A/N: Hope you liked it! Please review.) 


	2. Poker Faces and Checkups

(A/N: So, here's chapter two! This originally was supposed to be a oneshot, but restfulsky5 gave me an idea to continue this. Thanks to MusicalNinja15, sherry15, and restfulsky5 for reviewing!)

A half hour after Winona's visit to Jim, McCoy was impatiently waiting in the sickbay (A/N: Or whatever you call it) for Jim to show up for his yearly checkup.

After waiting for fifteen more minutes with still no sign of the young captain, Bones sighed and marched up the stairs towards Jim's room. Stopping outside the door, he yelled,

"Jim, you have your yearly checkup today! Get out here!"

When there was no answer, he added threateningly,

"There's no use in hiding. I have the medical override code."

Still no answer.

"Jim! If you don't open this door, I will, and you don't want that. I have hypos with me!"

Bones waited for a few moments, then punched in the override code and marched into the room.

"Jim, I warned you about hid-"

He stopped in mid-sentence when he saw Jim, curled up on the floor, crying his heart out, his body wracking with sobs.

"Jim?"

McCoy dropped down beside Jim on the floor, automatically checking his pulse. Seventy nine beats per minute. A little high, but not high enough to worry.

"Jim, what's wrong?" he asked, his tone soft, a big jump from when he had first marched into the room.

Jim raised his head, tears trickling down his cheeks and tear stains on his face.

"She- she came- and she- she said-"

He broke into tears again.

"Jimmy, Jimmy, calm down. It's alright," Bones comforted him.

"Who is 'she'?"

"Wi- Wi- Winona," Jim gulped, rubbing his eyes.

McCoy frowned at the name. _What the hell was she doing here?_

"And what did she say?"

Jim blinked, then quickly stood as if just realizing Bones was there.

"Nothing."

Jim blew his nose, then went into the bathroom.

McCoy heard running water as Jim splashed water onto his face, and when he came out of the bathroom he looked like nothing had happened except for a few traces of tears near his chin.

_Curse his poker face,_ McCoy thought.

"You said Winona was here," he pressed.

A flicker of sadness, hurt, and anger passed over Jim's face, then was gone.

"Yes. She was here."

"Why?" Bones pushed even more.

"That's none of your business," Jim said cooly.

_I know what he's doing. He's probably going to pull rank._

"Now, doctor, don't you have work to do?"

"Yeah, you're scheduled for a check up," McCoy informed him. "As in now."

"I'll reschedule my appointment. As captain, I believe I am able to do that."

It wasn't a question.

_Knew it._

"But-" he began, only to be cut off by Jim.

"I said I'll reschedule it. Nothing for you to worry about," Jim said cooly.

_Hmmph. Reschedule, my ass._ _He always does this when something's bothering him and when he's hurting. I'll get to the bottom of this. Maybe that pointy eared hobgoblin will help._

"Good day, doctor."

Jim was obviously dismissing him, so McCoy turned and walked out of the room.

As he glanced over his shoulder back at Jim, he was just in time to see the poker face slip away to be replaced by a look of hurt, pain, anger, and sadness. It was the most heartbreakingly broken look he had ever seen.


	3. Vulcan Chats

(A/N: Thank you to all the people who followed and/or favorited this story! Thanks to Guest, sherry15, MusicalNinja15, and Minecraft Guardiansaiyan for reviewing! Please read and review. On with the story!)

Spock sat quietly on his meditation mat in his room, eyes closed, going over the events of the day.

His peace was shattered by a loud, impatient knock on the door.

"Come in," he called.

The door opened and McCoy walked in, wearing his something's-wrong face.

"Yes, Dr. McCoy? How may I be of assistance?"

"Don't give me that logical Vulcan crap today; I'm not in the mood," McCoy frowned. "And in answer to your question, you can help me with Jim."

One of Spock's eyebrows shot to the top of his head in the way the crew found so amusing.

"Help you with Jim? I was not aware the captain was in need of assistance."

McCoy glared at him, the glare quickly turning into a look of worry.

"He was late for his yearly checkup yesterday, and when I went to go get him I found him on the floor of his room bawling his eyes out like a sick cow. He said something about Winona, but before I could question him further he did that poker face thing where you can't tell what he's thinking."

Spock's other eyebrow shot to the top of his head.

"I was not aware that the captain turned into a sick cow. Is he alright? And who is Winona?"

McCoy gave him a scathing look.

"I said LIKE a sick cow, not IS a sick cow. It was a simile. And Winona is the woman who gave birth to him, but bringing him into the world is the only thing I'm crediting her with. She doesn't even deserve the title mother."

Spock blinked at McCoy with mild curiosity.

"Why? What is wrong with Jim's mother?"

"Well, for one thing she was basically the cause of all his troubles. If she hadn't done so-and-so, so-and-so wouldn't have happened to Jim," McCoy explained shortly.

"What happened to Jim in his childhood?" Spock inquired.

"Well, after he was born, Winona took care of him until she married a man named Frank when Jim was six or so; I'm not really sure of his age. When she married Frank, she went off planet and rarely came home. Frank abused Jim and his brother, Sam, verbally and physically. Then, Sam ran away when Jim was eleven or something like that, and, well, I guess that was when the sexual abuse started. Frank finally got fired and couldn't take care of Jim, so he sent him off to live with his aunt and uncle on Tarsus IV. Jim finally had a good life, but then he discovered a fungus. He told Kodos about it, but Kodos did nothing. A year later, Kodos got all the people together. He told them that if he called their name, go stand in a line away from the other people. Names were called, and all those people whose names were called were shot right there. Jim survived and rescued about twenty six kids who were sentenced to death. He protected them for about a year before Starfleet came and helped them. By then, Jim's dumb luck had run out, and he had been captured and tortured by Kodos. When Starfleet found him, he was barely alive. He survived, and a few months later erased all of the records that told who he is. I only got it out of him when he was severely drunk. So, it was basically Winona's fault that everything happened to him," McCoy sighed.

Spock hesitated, then asked quietly,

"Which list was a Jim on?"

McCoy sighed again.

"He never told me."

"And why do you need my help?" Spock queried.

"We need to talk with Jim and help him through this, get him to tell us exactly what happened. Winona showing up would've triggered a lot of unwanted memories, and Jim will probably have realistic flashbacks, nightmares, etc."

"What do you mean by 'realistic flashbacks'?" the Vulcan asked.

"When he has a flashback, they're very lifelike, and he thinks that he's whenever and wherever the flashback is from. He thinks I don't know, but I do," McCoy answered.

Spock unfolded his legs and stood.

"Then I suggest we go talk to the captain."

And with that, they both hurried out of the room.

(A/N: So, here's another chapter! Sorry if I messed up some of Jim's past; if I did, correct me, and I'll fix it as soon as I can! Please, please, please review. It saddens me that there have been over 1,400 views and only seven reviews. Just kidding; keep up the reviews and thanks for reading!)


	4. Winona's Thoughts

(A/N: So, here's the chapter I told you guys was giving me all that trouble and that I promised! And, Guest, I am PERFECTLY aware that publishing an author note as a chapter is 'tacky', as you say, but what did you expect me to do? P.M. everyone? What I did was the easy way. Thank you to all the loyal readers, even the snobbish ones. Sorry I can't post the reviewers names this time; I'll try to do it next time. Read and review, and see the important author note at the end of this chapter.)

Winona sat in front of the flickering fireplace, deep in thought.

_Why didn't they tell me that Frank was abusing them?_

She recalled Jim's angry, hurt filled words:

_"You were never there for me! You didn't give a damn about me!"_

Oh. Of course. THAT was why. But why not Tarsus IV? Oh, yes. Same reason. Winona had never meant for Jim to be on Tarsus IV. How did he even get there, was something she had to look into. Finding Frank and Sam were another.

Suddenly she found herself regretting everything she had done, said, and even thought to hurt Jim. All she wanted was that innocent little boy back who bounced around excitedly, showing her what he had made at school. But it was too late. She had done everything wrong, and she had lost her little boy.

Now he was all grown up, and was no longer innocent and bubbly. And she had missed all of that. She had missed him getting his first date, his first college scholarship, and his whole life except for the first five or six years. God, how she wanted to see those other 17 years that she had missed.

The reason she had treated Sam and Jim so badly was because she was scared. She thought that she couldn't raise a child without George. Oh, how she wished George was still alive. None of this would have happened, and she would have a mother-son relationship with her sons. But now, they hated her. They misunderstood her actions, and now they were so independent each had gone off and started living their own life.

Winona sighed. There was so much she needed to tell Jim and Sam, once and if she found Sam and gotten Jim to trust her. How she loved them, how she missed them, how she was sorry, and one other little thing.

One little thing that she had never anyone, not even Frank. Now she was glad she hadn't told Frank.

Winona's cell phone rang and she picked it up.

"Hello? Oh, hey honey. No, I didn't forget. Yes...yes. This Saturday at 10 o' clock in the morning. Uh-huh... Yep. Okay. Love you. See you soon. Bye."

Winona hung up and sighed.

Sam and Jim had a sister.

She didn't know about them, and they didn't know about her. Soon, all that would change.

On one of her away missions, she had repeatedly slept with one of her fellow crewmembers, Alan Maurman. Soon she had gotten pregnant, and Alan had decided he only wanted their 19 year old daughter and not Winona. They switched her back and forth every other week, and these two weeks were Winona's. These two weeks, she would tell them all.

But first, she needed to fix things with Jim. But how? Maybe she could ask his two best friends to talk to him. What were their names? Spook and Mickey? No, Spock and McCoy. That was it.

Winona got an idea, and she searched the internet on her PADD. She clicked on the Starfleet website and soon had found McCoy's and Spock's e-mail addresses.

She wrote an e-mail, the exact same one to both of them except for the names, and proofread it.

**_Dear Dr. McCoy,_**

**_This is Winona Kirk. I need to talk to Jim about something really important, but he is mad at me. I understand that he hates me for what I did, but back then I didn't realize what I was losing. Now I do, and I want him back.I need you and Mr. Spock to talk to Jim for me, and convince him that I love him and that I'm sorry. I know how this sounds, but he's so mad at me he won't listen to me. Please, Mr. McCoy. _**

**_ Sincerely, Winona Kirk_**

Winona took a deep breath, let it out, then pressed send. Well, there was one thing done. Hopefully he and the Vulcan would help her. If not..well, she hoped it wouldn't come to that.

Her cell rang again, and when she glanced down someone was calling her from...Austin, Texas?

She picked it up and answered.

"Hello?"

What she heard nearly gave her a heart attack.

(A/N: Cliffhanger! Sorry this was short; like I said I've been busy. Anyway, a virtual tribble to anyone who can guess what freaked Winona out! And now, the first poll: should I put Carol in this story? or should it be just Spock, McCoy, and Jim? Second poll: if I put Carol in, should there be a slight romance between her and Jim? Not taking over the whole story, but just a slight romance. Or should there be just friendship? Your decision; please review!)


	5. Cuts and Talks

(A/N: Thank you guys for all of your reviews! Thanks to Minecraft Guardiansaiyan, MusicalNinja15, Vampire Diaries Rocks, Compliment Giver, restfulsky5, TechnoGirl314, Aneeta Potter, Guest, and guest reviewer Dina for reviewing. And Dina, yes, I am only 11. Thanks for the compliment, and yes, school does come first in my life since I'm working towards college. All the red and green stripes underneath your guys' names look wonderful; X3. Virtual tribble to MusicalNinja15 for guessing why Winona nearly had a heart attack! I'm not telling you guys; you'll find out soon enough. So far there's one for Jim and Carol romance and one for Jim and Carol friendship. Keep reviewing; your guys' reviews decide the outcome! MusicalNinja15 had a wonderful idea: Jim and Carol friendship with a slight attraction for each other. What do you guys think? Don't forget to review and tell me! This ends my long author note...)

Jim stood in his room in front of the large, full size mirror with his shirt off.

He studied his upper body with intense concentration, then with a red pen made a few lines on his chest and two arms.

The last couple of days after Winona's visit had been stressful for Jim. He had gotten barely any sleep because of nightmares, and had started sneaking McCoy's knockout medicine. He would carefully sedate himself just enough to make himself sleep for about ten hours; no more and no less.

_Who does she think she is, just waltzing in here and announcing she wants to be a part of my life again after all these years?_

One little part of him hoped maybe she was telling the truth, but he roughly pushed it away. Back to the matter at hand: relieving his stress.

Jim pulled out a lead pencil from his desk drawer, and with perfect precision began rubbing the tip back and forth, making a cut right on the red pen mark.

He had experimented with the best ways, and by far this was best. It gave the him satisfaction, the feeling of being in control that he loved so much, and it almost never bled. However, this time he accidentally rubbed too long and blood began oozing out.

Jim watched with fascination as the cut bled, then he did the same thing four more times: one on his chest, one on his right arm next to the first cut, and two on his left arm.

Meanwhile, McCoy was in his room with Spock, reading the e-mail.

McCoy glanced over at Spock.

"What do you think?"

After a moments silence, Spock replies,

"I think it would be most logical to talk with Jim."

"Okay. Right then. Let's go."

Spock and Bones stood, heading for Jim's room.

* * *

Jim stood in front of the mirror, watching as the blood oozed out.

Suddenly he heard footsteps in the hall.

_Please keep going, please keep going, please keep going..._

The footsteps stopped at his door, followed by a knock.

_Shit._

"Jim? Are you in there? Spock and I need to talk to you."

Jim didn't answer and frantically plastered paper towels against the bleeding cuts, crumpling them and throwing them away once the bleeding had stopped.

"Jim? Open up. For the millionth time, _I have the override code_. So open up."

"One moment," he called, yanking his shirt on over his cuts, and hoping that they wouldn't bleed through without band aids.

Running a hand through his hair, he ordered,

"Computer, door open. Lights on eighty percent."

The lights dimmed slightly as the door hissed open, revealing Spock and McCoy.

"Oh, hey Bones, hey Spock. What's up?"

Spock glanced at McCoy, who just shrugged and shot Spock a look back.

"It's about your mother," Spock started.

Jim's whole body stiffened at the mention of Winona.

_What does he know about it?_

"What do you even know about that?" he demanded, his cheerful demeanor gone.

"We don't. We just guessed," McCoy ventured.

"Then why are you even here if you don't know for sure?" Jim challenged, glaring at them both.

"Captain, your mother cares for you. She is truly sorry," Spock told him calmly.

"How do I know you aren't lying?" Jim demanded.

"I am Vulcan. Vulcans do not lie."

"You're not fully Vulcan. You're HALF Vulcan, remember?" Jim said coldly.

McCoy took a step forward. Jim had gone too far.

"James Tiberius Kirk, take that back you bastard!"

"No!" Jim shot back. "It's true. He is half Vulcan."

"That doesn't mean you have to be nasty about it! Take it back!"

"NO!"

"Enough!" Spock shouted.

McCoy and Jim stared at Spock. Rarely did he ever yell, so he must have been serious.

"I AM half Vulcan, but that is nothing to be ashamed of. And I do not lie. Jim, your mother cares for you a lot. The doctor and I implore, on your mother's behalf, to give her a chance."

Jim stared at the ground, not saying anything.

"Please, Jim."

After another moments silence, Jim sighed.

"Fine. I'll talk with her Sunday afternoon at the Riverside Café near the spaceport. Happy?"

"Yes Jim, thank you. Now, you and Dr. McCoy, apologize to each other."

Jim faced McCoy.

"I'm sorry, Bones. I shouldn't have called Spock that."

Bones' face softened.

"It's okay, kid. Sorry for calling you a bastard."

Jim gave him a tiny grin.

"I am a bastard."

"Yeah, you are, aren't you."

McCoy grabbed Jim in a hug, and Jim noticed some of the blood from his cuts had soaked through his shirt.

_Fuck._

He pulled away and attempted to hide the blood.

"Can you guys go? I need to get in the shower."

"Certainly, Captain."

Spock turned to leave, but McCoy frowned.

"Jim, what are you hiding?"

McCoy grabbed Jim's wrist and studied the blood on his shirt.

"What happened?"

"Nosebleed," Jim lied. "And I really need to get in the shower."

McCoy eyed him, but let go of his wrist.

"Sure you do, kid."

He and Spock turned and walked out the door.

The second the door closed behind them, Jim let out a sigh.

His secret was safe.

(A/N: So, an extra long update in honor of my little sister (not so little now) Sabella's sixth birthday! Yet one more year off the list to keep boys away from her...So, don't forget to review what you want Jim and Carol's relationship to be like, and tell me what you think of MusicalNinja15's idea. And yes, I know you guys probably think that the whole cutting with a lead pen thing is highly improbable and far fetched, but it really works.)


	6. Runaways and Sisters

(A/N: Thanks to reviewers MusicalNinja15, Kalsife, Vampire Diaries Rocks, and last but not least, the brainpower for this chapter, Minecraft Guardiansaiyan. Thanks to all you readers and reviewers and followers and favoriters! Don't forget to review about Jim and Carol's relationship, because I can't wait much longer to bring her in. Review, please! Oh, and one more thing: if you want me to update, I have to get ten more reviews. I know, I'm evil. So review!)

Out in the hall, Spock and McCoy shared a suspicious look. They reached an unspoken agreement, then, without warning, barged right back into the room.

What they saw shocked them.

Jim was standing in front of them, staring at them with his mouth wide open and eyes wide with shock. But that wasn't what shocked them. What shocked them were the cuts and scars all over his torso and two arms. Some were bleeding still, others were just scabbing over, and yet others were as faded as they were going to get.

All three stood like that for a moment before reality struck Jim and he jumped into action. Wrestling his shirt over his head, he yanked on his Starfleet jacket and shoes, grabbed his car keys off the table, and bolted out of the room.

Coming to their senses, Spock and McCoy raced after him, calling his name.

Jim climbed into his car and jammed the key into the ignition, slamming his foot down on the accelerator and speeding away.

McCoy and Spock slowed to a stop, watching helplessly as the truck sped away into the city.

"That went well," Spock commented.

McCoy gave him a look like,

_Seriously?_

"Yeah, but what were all those scars about?"

Suddenly a thought struck McCoy.

"_Shit_, I thought he'd stopped that!"

"What do you mean, doctor?" Spock questioned.

"When we were roommates in the Academy, he used to cut all the time because of his past kept giving him nightmares. I made him stop, but I guessed he started again, what with Winona and all that," McCoy explained.

"Well, then, I believe the most logical thing to do is tell Mrs. Kirk about her son running away. Then we try to find him."

"Who's going to call him?" McCoy questioned.

Spock just looked at him, and McCoy got the hint.

"Oh, fine."

Yanking out his cell, he dialed Winona's number and waited.

After a few moments, Winona answered.

"Winona Kirk here."

"Hey, Winona. It's Leonard."

He could hear her voice become hopeful.

"Did you talk to Jim? Did anything happen?"

McCoy heaved a sigh.

"Jim ran away."

"What? But I really need to tell him something!"

"What? What do you need to tell him?"

Winona heaved a sigh.

"Jim and Sam have a sister, and I just got in touch with Sam. Sam and their sister are both arriving on Saturday. tomorrow!"

"They have a - no, never mind, I don't want to know how that happened. But Jim said he'd talk to you Sunday afternoon at the Riverside Café near the spaceport."

"That's too late!"

"Well, it'll have to do."

Winona heaved another sigh.

"Fine. But please, find my son?"

"Of course. Bye."

"Bye."

McCoy hung up and it was his turn to sigh. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

The next day found Jim near the Riverside Spaceport, handing out luggage to people as they came out of the hovercraft, occasionally getting some money and thankful greetings.

He heard a feminine voice complaining,

"Mom! I can't my bags!"

Jim looked up.

"Maybe I can help you. What did they look like?"

The nineteen year old smiled at him.

"They were black with silver lined handles."

Jim rummaged around and soon scooped up the two bags.

"Here you are, miss."

"Thank you," she beamed.

"No problem," he smiled. "I'm Jim."

"I'm Leah."

"Leah?"

Jim heard a familiar sounding woman's voice and turned around. Immediately his jaw dropped in shock.

"_Mom?_"

Winona smiled uneasily.

"Hello, Jim. This is you and Sam's sister, Leah."

All Jim could do was stare.

(A/N: This'll be the last chapter for a while, because my mom took away my devices. Work on those reviews!)


	7. Asthma and Brothers

(A/N: So, thanks to all the patient readers and reviewers out there! And, I recently published a oneshot, if you want to go to my profile and check it out. Also, I have made my decision for the Jim and Carol poll: due to the results, as no one seemed to like MusicalNinja15's idea, they will only have friendship. Plus I'm considering leaving Carol out completely and having it just Jim, Bones, and Spock. And I have a confession to make: I have recently discovered I am indeed a McKirk, Spirk, and Spock/McCoy/Kirk lover. So I'm resisting the need to add slash to this story. X3, I feel so ashamed. So, you can expect to see some more Spock, Bones, Jim, Winona, Leah, Winona's mystery caller, and another shock. Oh, I am SO taking advantage of the my-story-my-universe thing. Congrats to MusicalNinja15 for guessing the caller. Just two more things, then I'll start on the chapter. One: this story will NOT center around my OC. I am not a fan of OCs who take over the story. Two: you guys are lucky I love you all so much I uploaded another chapter. SO lucky. But still, you'll get your cliffie at the end of this chapter as punishment. On with the real chapter!)

McCoy was pacing back and forth as Spock watched in slight amusement at the doctor's frantic pacing.

"We will find the captain," he calmly assured Leonard.

Bones stopped pacing and glared at him.

"Dammit, Spock! How can you be so calm?"

"Because I know that Jim would not just leave his crew and career behind," Spock answered. "Besides, he's famous. He cannot just disappear. Everyone knows him."

As if on cue, McCoy's comm. rang, and he answered it.

"What do want, cause it better be good," he growled into it.

Spock just shook his head in obvious disapproval.

"Hi, this is Winona. And, I found Jim. He, um, has a sister and just found out and now he's freaking out and I don't know what to do!" Winona burst out.

"What!?" McCoy broke into a stream of cuss words, and Spock pulled the comm. away from him.

"Mrs. Kirk, this is Commander Spock. Tell me where you are, and the doctor and I will immediately come there with the proper equipment," he spoke into the comm.

"We're at the spaceport- oh, commander, I don't think he can breathe!"

"We are coming, Mrs. Kirk."

Spock hung up and whirled around, displaying slight anxiety.

"She says he is having an asthma attack. We must go to the spaceport immediately."

McCoy had already snatched up his medical bag and was on his way out the door.

When they reached the spaceport, they immediately saw a crowd gathered near the luggage pickup, and they shoved their way through the crowd.

"CMO, coming through!" McCoy called, pushing people out of his way.

When they finally broke through the crowd, they saw Winona and a tall, pretty teenage girl with light green eyes and wavy black hair worriedly bending over Jim, who was bent over gasping and wheezing for breath.

"Curse his damn asthma," McCoy muttered, dropping down so he could see Jim's face and pressing the inhaler to his mouth.

Jim immediately began taking deep gulps of air, eventually slowing his breathing and taking even gulps of air. After a few minutes McCoy pulled the inhaler away and Jim straightened.

"Thanks, Bones," he rasped, eyeing McCoy and Spock warily.

"Don't mention it, kid," McCoy replied, tucking away the inhaler.

Winona, Jim, Spock, McCoy, and the teenage girl stood there in the middle of the crowd of people, shifting around uncomfortably. Eventually, the teenager broke the silence.

"I'm Leah, and this is my mother, Winona. And apparently, this is my brother," she introduced. "And you two must be Spock and Bones."

"Woah, woah, woah," Jim hastily interjected, "only I get to call him Bones. That's _my _nickname for him."

Leah tossed her hair and gave Jim an exact mirror image of his prize winning smirk.

"Nice to meet you, Spock and _Bones_," she smiled innocently.

Jim glowered at her as she smirked at him, and Winona groaned inwardly.

_Looks like they won't get along as much as I'd originally hoped. Crap._

"Why don't we all get lunch together?" she suggested.

"Of course," Spock agreed, and McCoy nodded his head in agreement.

"Leah? Jim?"

"Oh, sure," Jim replied absently, concentrating with all his might on giving Leah his best glower.

"Yeah, mom. That sounds great," Leah answered sweetly.

They all piled into the car, and Spock, Bones, and Winona listened to Leah and Jim arguing.

"Bones is _my _nickname for him!"

"I can call him that if I want!"

"No, you can't!"

"Yes, I can!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"_Both of you STOP_!" Winona shouted over the noise. They both fell into silence while glaring at each other, and Winona sighed.

They all arrived at a new restaurant that had just been built called Space Subway, complete with a space theme, and ordered hamburgers and French fries, while Jim and Leah had a 'dirtiest look' contest.

"Both of you, stop it," Winona sighed.

Leah and Jim looked away from each other and completely ignored the other, while Winona sighed again.

A young man with broad shoulders and blonde hair caught her attention, and when she saw his face she gasped in shock.

Jim glanced up, and his jaw dropped open when he caught sight of the man.

Winona swayed slightly in her seat, and Spock steadied her.

"What is it?"

She pointed, and Spock turned to see a young man weaving his way towards them.

"Who is that?"

Jim leaped to his feet and answered for her.

"Sam!"

(A/N: Quite sorry for making you all wait so long, but I hope you enjoy! Alright, I'm done with the editing. I suggest that you go back and re-read the story, and I'll work on another chapter!)


	8. Brothers, Fights, and Mysterious Men

(A/N: So, hey y'all! I'm just letting you know that I deleted two of my stories, 'See You Tonight' and 'Stupid Girl', due to my learning from catspats31 that including lyrics in fanfics are against the rules. So, a little shout out to all of you who have written songfics, you might want to delete them and instead, try writing oneshots that are based on the song and don't include song lyrics. Ah, and here's the next chapter!)

Jim launched himself at his brother, wrapping his arms around Sam in a tight hug.

"Easy there, Jimmy," Sam laughed, hugging his brother back. "Let me get a good look at you."

Jim pulled away and Sam held him out at an arms length, his eyes sweeping over his younger brother's body.

"Well, looks like you've gone and grown up," Sam grinned. "Have you found a good girl yet?"

Jim flushed and stammered, "Well, um, uh, not exactly..."

"Not yet; he just has the biggest reputation of womanizer ever seen," McCoy cut in.

Jim glared at McCoy and said icily, "Actually, I _do_ have a girl I like."

Bones inwardly groaned. _Great. I save his life from an asthma attack and he STILL is mad at Spock and I for barging into his room_.

Sam nudged Jim and teased, "So, who's the lucky girl? Or should I say _un_lucky girl?"

"Uh, yeah. I don't think so," Jim smirked. "I am _so _not telling the blackmail genius of sixth grade."

At Winona and Leah's confused looks he explained, "In sixth grade he went around getting personal information from everyone, then, using the information, blackmailed them into buying him 3 bags of candy per person. In the end, he ended up with a monster of a stomachache with me having to look after him."

Sam grimaced at the thought, then rolled his eyes at his brother.

Leah studied Jim and Sam, noting how much they were alike. Broad shoulders, blond, gold-streaked hair, and bright blue eyes, Jim's eyes being a shade lighter. _Maybe it won't be so bad having them for brothers after all._

Just then, Jim told Sam loudly, "You should see Leah's plain black hair. It's so ugly. I can't even tell she brushed it this morning!"

_Or not._

Leah's temper flared at his words, and without thinking she launched herself at Jim and landed an uppercut right on his jaw.

Jim reeled back, shocked, and dodged the wrong way, slipping to the floor as she landed a right cross on his nose. There was a sickening crack, then blood spurted out of Jim's nose.

The restaurant was silent as Jim snatched up a napkin and held it to his nose, and Leah backed away, horrified.

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry, I did it without thinking!" she burst out.

Suddenly, Sam broke into laughter. "That was awesome! And people say girls can't punch!" Sam helped Jim to his feet, grinning. "Jim, she broke your nose!"

"I can see that," Jim muttered. "Can feel it, too."

Leah glanced around at all the eyes on her, and she backed toward the door. "I'll be in the car," she said hurriedly, darting out the door. She slid into the backseat and buried her head in her hands. _Great. I could have been good friends with him, but I had to go and break his nose._

There was a creak as the door of the backseat opened, then someone slid in next to her.

"What do you want?" she said, her voice muffled.

Silence for a moment, then, "Don't worry, you aren't the first person to break my nose."

Leah raised her head. "What do you want?" she repeated.

"To make you feel better?" he ventured.

When that didn't work, he grew serious. "Look, I'm sorry for teasing you. I actually really like your hair."

Leah smiled at him. "Thanks. I'm sorry for breaking your nose and bruising your jaw."

Jim grinned. "Don't worry about it. Now I can say I was attacked by a ferocious female and survived."

She glared at him and held up her fist threateningly.

Jim raised his hands in mock surrender. "Sorry, sorry. I take it back!"

"Good."

Jim paused for a moment. "Do you want to go to the spaceport? You know, walk there and back? It won't take that long."

Leah grinned. "I'd love to."

They slid out of the car, locking it, and began walking.

"Besides, I have to pick up my truck anyway," Jim told her.

"Okay."

They arrived at the spaceport after picking up some ice cream with cones, and Jim scanned the parking lot. "There it is."

He pointed at a black truck with the Starfleet insignia spray painted gold on the side.

"Nice truck," she complimented.

"Thanks. It used to be my dad's, but with a fresh coat of paint it looks brand new," Jim explained proudly.

"Look! A spaceship is landing!" Leah exclaimed in wonder, pointing up at the spaceship with one hand and shading her eyes with the other.

"Yep! C'mon, let's go hand out luggage as they get off. Sometimes people will give us a tip!"

He pulled her towards the luggage rack, and they began handing out luggage, occasionally getting a tip.

* * *

A man pulled his hat down over his eyes and stepped off the spaceship. Over twenty years of living on Romulan had taken its toll, and he was glad to be back on his home planet again.

He scanned the crowd while heading toward the luggage rack, glancing up in slight surprise as he was handed his luggage by a young man. "Here you go, sir," the young man smiled. He just nodded, studying the man as long as he dared then moving on.

_Could it be, after all these years?_

One more glance at the young man's features revealed he was right, and he pondered over his options. Deciding to stay low for a while and look into where the young man and his family lived, he moved along.

Still, he couldn't help needing to confirm his suspicions. He nudged another man beside him.

"Who was that young man handing out luggage with the young woman?"

The other man looked surprised that he didn't know.

"That's the famous Captain James Tiberius Kirk of the U.S.S. Enterprise!" he replied, moving away to greet a woman.

_Captain James Tiberius Kirk of the U.S.S. Enterprise. _

He silently rolled the name around on his tongue. Yes, now his suspicions were confirmed.

(A/N: Alright you guys, here's the new chapter you all deserve! And if you want, you can try to guess who the mysterious man is. Like I said, I'm taking full advantage of the unspoken my-story-my-way rule. You can guess whether it's a character from the movies or a new character, possibly a bad guy that I made up. Happy guessing! Oh, and I would recommend going back and rereading the story, as I changed some big things and some minor things. Tell me what you think!)


	9. Missions and Men Again

(A/N: OMG I am SO FREAKING SORRY for the wait, you guys! Really, I am. I've just been busy and depressed; not feeling up to another chapter. Well, here it is! Thannks for all the views, reviews, follows and favorites. Here we go!)

"Jim Kirk!"

Jim turned around and immediately straightened, bringing his hand to hs forehead in a salute.

"Admiral Jameson," he greeted.

Jameson nodded to Leah then spoke to Jim, "At ease, captain."

Jim let his hand drop to his side, and Jameson glanced over at Leah curiously.

"She's my sister-in-law, sir," Jim explained as Leah swung a bag off the rack and handed it to an old lady.

Jameson inspected Jim next. "Good god, man. How in the world did you get that broken nose and bruised jawbone?"

"Um, Leah gave it to me," Jim mumbled.

Jameson looked at Leah incredously, and she flushed.

"He was teasing me!" she protested.

"Oh, of course. Jim Kirk is known for his snarky comments and teasing. But you have one hell of a punch by the looks of him," Jameson complimented her.

"Thanks," she smiled, flushing redder at the praise.

"Now, Jim, what did you learn from this?" Jameson continued, looking at the young man. The latter stared at the ground.

"Never to provoke a woman with muscles and a temper, sir," Jim replied dutifully.

Leah stared at him, and he burst into laughter.

"Kidding, kidding!" he grinned. "So, admiral, what brings you here today?"

"We have a mission for you. We recently have been threatened by an unknown source, but we traced it to Romulan. You and your crew will find who it or they are, and bring them beack to Starfleet headquarters. Got it?"

Jim nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Good. Oh, and have a good time handing out luggage until the mission tomorrow," Jameson added with a twinkle in his eyes.

Jim smiled, as did Leah. "Yes, sir," they said in unision.

"Good." Jameson sighed. "You're exactly like your father, Jim. From the hair, eyes, body build, and personality, you're exactly like him."

"Thank you, sir."

Jameson smiled at them both. "I've got to get back to headquarters. Have a good day!"

"You, too!" they said together once again.

As Jameson turned and strolled away, the mysterious man pulled his hat down farther over his face.

_Tomorrow on the U.S.S. Enterprise,_ he noted to himself. _Good._

(A/N: Okay, short chapter, but that's because this one is essential to the plot. Man, are you guys going to be surprised when you find out who the man is. TheMusicalNinja31 and Vampire Diaries got incredibly close when they said Frank; so hopefully that will give you another good hint. Again, sorry about the late chapter!)


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